Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Please note: Failure to follow all instructions could result in your application not being considered.

Grant requests must target one or more concrete elements within the festival. Proposals should be specific and thorough in their description of the element(s). No grants will be awarded for “general support.”

While the festival element(s) described in the proposal carry the most weight, factors such as the festival’s focus and its geographical location may also be considered in making the final determinations. The manner in which the Academy will be acknowledged during the festival also is of some importance.

Completed application packages should be sent to:

Gale Anne Hurd
Chair, Festival Grants Committee
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
1313 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028-8107

Applications must be received by July 1, 2009. Under no circumstances will late applications be accepted. Festivals will receive notification of their status by November 2009.

Packages may be mailed or sent via a delivery service such as FedEx or UPS.

Application Template

Your completed proposal should resemble the following template as closely as possible; it should also be assembled in the order indicated.

Note: Do not staple the pages. Do not use three-hole paper. Do not insert title or section heading pages between the proposal segments.

1. Application Form

   The application is a PDF document. Fill out the form completely. Please include your current contact information and statistics from your most recent festival.

2. Proposal – two pages

   Request statement – one sentence describing the proposed project and the grant amount requested. (This statement should also appear on the application form.)

   Proposal paragraphs – several paragraphs outlining the element(s) for which support is requested. Provide as much detail as possible, including information on how the element(s) will affect the festival’s current and projected audience. Offering alternatives will give the committee the opportunity to select a preferred scenario.

3. Organizational information –no more than two pages
   

   Mission statement – one or more paragraphs broadly describing the goals of the festival as well as delineating how each proposed element supports those goals.
   

   History of the festival – a brief description of the festival, including some past highlights (events, tributes, films, honored guests, etc.).
   

   Description of the parent organization – a brief outline of the yearly activities of the festival’s parent organization, if it is film-related.
   

   Description of the parent organization – a brief outline of the yearly activities of the festival’s parent organization, if it is film-related.
   

   Executive profiles – Brief profiles of all the primary executives of the organization as well as any staff who will have a direct impact on the program being proposed for funding.

4. Acknowledgments – one page

   A list of the ways in which the festival will acknowledge the Academy’s grant. As stated in the Guidelines and Requirements page, include here, as appropriate, mention of the Academy’s support in the festival program; a full-page ad in the program; ability to screen the Academy trailer before selected screenings; ability to display Academy signage; verbal acknowledgment of the Academy at various events, etc.

5. Income/expense statement – no longer than two pages

   This should include a financial overview of the most recent festival.

6. Budget – no longer than two pages

   This should include a budget for the proposed element(s), a simple breakdown of anticipated costs and an overview of the projected budget for the entire festival.

7. Proof of festival’s nonprofit status

8. Four copies of the most recent festival program – or other similar material

Grants awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reflect the basic goal of the Academy, that is, to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures and to foster cooperation among the creative leaders of the motion picture industry for cultural, educational and technical progress. Under the following guidelines, the Academy Festival Grants Committee considers all applications that encourage appreciation of and excellence in filmmaking:

1. Grants are available only to United States-based film festivals.
2. Grants are available only to film festivals that have been held on at least five occasions over at least five years.
3. Festivals may not receive grants in consecutive years.
4. Film festivals are encouraged to submit proposals that make festival events more accessible to the general public, especially to underserved segments of the population; that give screening access to minority and less visible filmmakers; and that bring the public into contact with films and filmmakers.
5. Grants must be used for the support of a particular event or element within a festival.
6. Grants may be used to support seminars, conferences or other educational events within a festival.
7. Grants are not awarded to support the screening of an individual new film.
8. Grants are not awarded to support competitions or awards programs.
9. Grants are not awarded to cover the expenses involved in the screening of works produced specifically for television or any other event or program that primarily involves work produced for television.
10. Grants are not awarded to support parties, hospitality suites, tribute dinners or any other similar events within a festival.
11. Grants are not awarded to support the development, production or completion of motion pictures.
12. All grants are awarded with the understanding that the Academy has discretion over the type and degree of recognition it receives from the grant recipient or others.
13. The Academy reserves the right to amend the above guidelines if extenuating circumstances or other unusual situations warrant such action.

Sponsorship Credit Requirements

The Academy requires grant recipients to acknowledge the Academy’s sponsorship in appropriate and reasonable ways. As each festival is unique, the Academy will assess sponsorship credit requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, the Academy has very specific views about the representation of its name and marks. Festivals must obtain prior approval of any mention or representation of the Academy Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or the Academy’s sponsorship.

As appropriate, please provide the following:

• prominent recognition on all printed material;
• mention in press releases;
• prominent recognition on any trailer or on-screen slide produced specifically for the festival;
• prominent recognition on the festival Web site with hyperlinks to the Academy’s Web site;
• recognition on banners and signage at the festival;
• ability to display an Academy banner or similar signage at the festival;
• ability to run an Academy-produced trailer at sponsored event(s);
• full-page ad in the festival program, brochure or magazine;
• a certain number of festival guest passes and reception invitations; and
• all other benefits offered to other sponsors at the equivalent level.

In lieu of or in addition to the placement of an Academy logo, the following acknowledgment line may be used:

Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The 2009 Academy Film Festival Grants are directed to festivals occurring during the 2009 calendar year.

Grants are not offered to individual festivals in successive years.

Only festivals based in the United States that have held at least five festivals as of December 31 of the year prior to applying are eligible to apply.

Screening programs, be they periodic screening series or end-of-term student screening programs, are not eligible to apply. Festivals that do not screen films in a theatrical setting also are not eligible to apply.

Eligible film festivals may apply for grants at three funding levels, depending on the cash budget of the festival.

• Festivals with a cash budget of less than $100,000 can apply for a grant of up to 10% of their cash budget or $2500, whichever is higher.
• Festivals with cash budgets from $100,000 to less than $200,000 can apply for a grant of up to $10,000.
• Festivals with cash budgets from $200,000 to $600,000 can apply for a grant of up to $20,000.
• Festivals with cash budgets greater than $600,000 can apply for a grant of up to $30,000.

To maximize the distribution of funding to festivals, the Academy’s Festival Grants Committee may approve grants for less than the amount requested. In recent years, this has been the case more often than not.

All festivals that receive a grant must submit a report by December 31 of the year the grant was used. You should use the following guidelines as a template for your report. Each question or request should be written out and responded to in your report. Please read carefully as an incomplete report will render the festival ineligible for future grants until the committee deems otherwise. This applies to multi-year grant recipients as well.

1. What was the grant amount and for what program(s) was it received?
2. Give a basic recap of the festival as a whole, followed by a recap of the specific program(s) that the Academy funded. Please mention any deviations from the original proposal and give an explanation for why those deviations occurred. (Note: The Academy should always be notified of any deviations from the original proposal in advance of the festival opening.)
3. What were your goals for the program(s)? Were these goals achieved? Please provide details.
4. What were the attendance figures for each program funded? If applicable, how do these figures compare with previous years?
5. How did the grant impact the funded program(s)? How did the grant impact the overall festival?
6. What changes might the festival make to improve the funded program(s)?
7. What changes might the festival make to improve the impact of the Academy’s grant?
8. Multi-year grant recipients: Are there any significant staffing, programming, format or other changes anticipated for the festival in the coming year?
9. Include a detailed recap of how the Academy was acknowledged both prior to and during the festival.
10. Include a detailed final budget for the film festival as well as a separate detailed final budget for the funded program, including a breakdown of how the grant was spent. Please be as specific as possible. For example, if money was dedicated to filmmaker travel, tell us which filmmakers benefited and how much was spent on each.
11. Include copies of the festival program as well as any material in which the Academy’s logo or “special support” statement appear. Also, please provide a list of all marketing and publicity done by the festival.
12. Include a copy of any press releases (and corresponding media lists), press reports, photographs, press broadcast footage and/or festival video footage related to the program(s) funded by the grant. At a minimum, photos of any banners, signs or displays bearing the Academy logo that were displayed at the festival should be included. If any of the above is not available, please explain why.
13. When available, please send a copy of the festival’s federal tax return for the year in which the grant was used. If this will be a problem, please explain why.